theGuardian.comTony Pulis leaves Crystal Palace two days before start of new season
• Manager unable to resolve differences with co-owner
• Keith Millen will take charge of team for trip to Arsenal

Crystal Palace’s preparations for the new season were thrown into chaos on Thursday night after Tony Pulis’s deteriorating relationship with the co-chairman, Steve Parish, left the club without a manager going into their opening match at Arsenal on Saturday.

Pulis’s departure after only ten months with the London club was described as “mutual consent” but well-placed sources have confirmed that mutual contempt would be a more fitting term because of the friction between the two men, stretching back to the turn of the year.

Pulis was contemplating whether he wanted to work for Parish as long ago as January, only two months after taking over from Ian Holloway on the run that saw Palace recover from a dire start to end the season in 11th position, recording their highest league finish since 1992.

Malky Mackay has been installed as the favourite to replace Pulis, not least because of his close relationship with Iain Moody, his former colleague at Cardiff City and now the sporting director at Selhurst Park.

Steve Clarke and Neil Lennon also feature prominently on the bookmakers’ list after a day of fast-moving events that has seen Palace’s relegation odds take a significant move in the wrong direction.

The announcement, and particularly its timing, certainly represents a grievous setback for the club bearing in mind their transformation since Pulis took charge when they were bottom of the division.

Pulis finished the season as the Premier League’s manager of the year, but the 56-year-old has become increasingly frustrated with the restrictions Parish has apparently put on him on the transfer market and what the former Stoke City manager considered as the co-chairman blurring the lines between their jobs.

The matter came to a head after it started to emerge that Pulis was considering his position and the two men agreed to a hastily arranged meeting after training on Thursday afternoon. Pulis had wanted more responsibility when it came to signing players and felt that he had been undermined too often.

After seven years at Stoke with a strong working relationship with the chairman, Peter Coates, he did not appreciate having a reduced role at his new club. He was also dissatisfied with Moody’s role and it quickly became apparent during his talks with Parish that the damage was irretrievable.

“Tony is a traditional manager who wants to run things on the football side,” a source told the Guardian. “It’s become an irritant … It’s a festering wound that has been there for a long time. After the season we had, the manager hoped the chairman would have thought: ‘Right I’ve got myself a good manager and now I need to back him’. It’s actually got worse not better. And now it’s been brought to a head.”

The announcement came on the same day that Crystal Palace confirmed the signing of Martin Kelly from Liverpool, their fourth new arrival of the summer after Fraizer Campbell’s £900,000 move from Cardiff City and the free transfers of Brede Hangeland and Chris Kettings, formerly of Fulham and Blackpool respectively.

Palace have been operating with a wage limit of around £40,000 a week and Pulis had been frustrated about missing out on other targets. Steven Caulker went from Cardiff to QPR while Gylfi Sigurdsson returned to Swansea City from Tottenham Hotspur.

On Parish’s part, his thinking is that Palace have to work with a reasonably tight financial budget and that he is entitled to play a hands-on role with the club he is financing. It is also believed he wanted to see more academy players being given a chance, whereas Pulis was looking to bring to more established and experienced players as he tried to maintain his record of having never been relegated.

Keith Millen, the assistant manager, will take charge for the Arsenal game while the other members of Pulis’s coaching staff, including Gerry Francis and long-time assistant Dave Kemp, have been asked to help him out before leaving their roles afterwards.

* Mike Ashley has backed under-fire Newcastle manager Alan Pardew
* Newcastle owner Ashley watched the humiliation at St Mary's
* Magpies yet to win a match this season and are bottom of Premier League
* Newcastle fans held banners with 'Pardew out' and 'Pardew is a muppet'

Mike Ashley has backed Alan Pardew after clear-the-air talks with the Newcastle manager over his future.

The club’s owner has told Pardew he doesn’t want to judge his four year spell at St James’ Park in the opening four games of the season in the Barclays Premier League.

Pardew is under massive pressure from Newcastle supporters after their disappointing start to the season left them bottom of the table with just two points.

Mike Ashley, Newcastle United's owner, watches on as his side are humiliated 4-0 at St Mary's Stadium

Alan Pardew (right) is under pressure as Newcastle United manager following 4-0 defeat at Southampton

Newcastle United fans unveiled a banner saying 'Pardew Out' in the away end at St Mary's on Saturday

They lost 4-0 at Southampton on Saturday and Pardew knows he will walk into a hostile environment when they place Hull at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Despite the negativity at St James’ Park, Newcastle are only three points behind Manchester United in ninth place and Everton in 10th.

Ashley was at St Mary’s to watch his team surrender against Saints, but he is holding his nerve despite the demands from Newcastle fans to fire the manager.

They are bottom of the Premier League table after four games, but Pardew has no intention of walking away from the club.

On Saturday his assistant John Carver was allegedly involved in a heated exchange with Newcastle fans when they demanded Pardew’s dismissal.

A banner was unfurled with the words ‘Pardew is a muppet’ during the game and he was subjected to more unfavourable chants throughout their disappointing performance.

Although Pardew signed an eight year contract with the club in September 2012, there is a break clause in the deal if Ashley decides to sack his boss.

Newcastle United fans also held a banner saying 'Pardew is a muppet' during the 4-0 defeat at St Mary's

Ashley would have pay a fixed fee in compensation - around £5million - to sack Pardew, but he vowed to support his manager during talks over the past 48 hours.

The total bill to fire Pardew and bring in another manager, such as Steve Bruce or former Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis, would cost around £8m.

In addition to the costs involved in sacking Pardew, the Newcastle owner would have to pay compensation to Hull if he wanted to appointed Bruce.

Although Pulis is no longer with Palace, he is still under contract with the south London club and and a compensation figure of around £3m is in existence.

Steve Bruce backed up under-fire Newcastle boss Alan Pardew after he was linked with the Toon job

Newcastle United fans hold up a campaign banner with the website 'SackPardew.com' displayed upon it